Month: July 2021

Romance Anticipation is the Best

Post author By P.N. Hinton
Post date July 28, 2021

Book Riot Romance

The latest When in Romance episode up. I just love that the title is The Return of The Toaster Oven. In it, Trisha and Jess discuss Wrong Number, Right Woman as well as some of their eagerly anticipated romances for the remainder of 2021.

Rioter Amanda gave us her recommendations for romances that feature radio hosts and podcasters. There is something to be said about the smooth sexy voices that can grace the airwaves.

Vernieda also gave us a crash course in Harlequin Manga.

Around the Web In Romance:

These are, in a word, beautiful. I know I don’t need any more bags but I’ll be honest in admitting I’d have a hard time turning any of these down if I saw them in a local shop.

I think we can all agree that sometimes it’s just as satisfying reading about the friendships in romance novels. If you’re of that mindset, then be sure to try to check out the Love’s Sweet Arrow BFFs in Romance event on August 6th.

Here’s a fun quiz to see how many of these popular romances you’ve read. Somehow I only got 15/60, which was a little surprising to me. If they had gone by author, I would have gotten a much higher result. But since it was specific books, it did change for some of the ones listed. It’s still a fun one though and a good way to add to your TBR.

Kennedy Ryan’s Reel got the billboard treatment! I am over the 50% mark and I am loving this sooooo much. So seeing this is awesome to see especially in a world that still sneers at the romance genre. Get it sis!

I’ve talked about this before, but apparently it needs to be reiterated that YA is intended for Young Adults. It’s okay to be an adult reading YA; it’s not okay to want more ‘adult’ themes in it to satisfy your reading needs and desires. That’s like reading a Western and being mad that the only to get around town is by horse, buggy, or your feet. If you’re ashamed to be seen reading romance that’s on you and something you have to unpack and process. But stop trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and let YA stay YA.

Anticipated Reads:

The discussion about the eagerly anticipated books for the remainder of the year got me to thinking about the ones I’m looking forward to for the remainder of this year. Funnily enough, it not surprising, a lot of mine overlap with what Trisha and Jess mentioned. This includes, but isn’t limited to, A Thorn in the Saddle, The Heart Principle, The Lights on Knockbridge Lane (just go an ARC of that!) and Never Cross a Highlander. However, I’m also looking forward to The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon, A Kiss at the Mistletoe Rodeo by Kathy Douglass, and Bombshell by Sarach MacLean. Even though the release date is still TBD, I’m still eagerly awaiting The Bride Bet by Tessa Dare.

No recommendations today since I wanted to take the the to talk about my anticipated reads. I’ve gotten a few requests for recommendations and am still working on coming up with some for those. I should be back on track next week for them but I may also change it up a bit for future newsletters. Don’t worry though! Mondays will always have new releases and deals.

And on that note, I’m off for now. Thanks for reading and if you need more of me you can follow me over on Twitter under @PScribe801. See ya Monday!

Riot Rundown

072821-AccursedVampire-RR

Post author By Natalia Heroux
Post date July 28, 2021

Sponsored by HarperCollins Children's Books

Dragoslava is a vampire kid, but sometimes being stuck as a kid forever can be a pain in the neck. And that’s not even the worst part. Centuries ago, a witch cursed Drago. If they don’t complete every task she sets, they will be turned into worms.
When the witch wants a spellbook from Baneberry Falls, Drago sets off with their immortal friends. But mysteries await in this sleepy Midwestern town, and Drago must figure out if the keepers of the spellbook have a hidden agenda. One thing’s for sure though: Drago’s immortal life will never be the same again!

True Story

New Releases: France, Plants, Stans (of Civil Rights!)

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date July 27, 2021

This Is Your Mind on Plants by Michael Pollan

Does anyone else confuse Michael Palin with Michael Pollan? It’s easy to! Especially if you grew up hearing the former go “I’m Michael Palin! And you’re watching Comedy Central!” but with a British accent where Palin sounded like “Polin” for some reason. Ok anyway, for some time I thought the guy from Monty Python wrote nature books, and he does not (but he IS a travel writer). This book looks at “three plant-based drugs — opium, mescaline and caffeine” and how they appear in world culture, as well as their bodily effects.

Carry On: Reflections of a New Generation by John Lewis

The recent assault on voting rights makes me pretty emo about this one. This is a “brilliant and empowering collection of final reflections and words of wisdom from venerable civil rights champion, the late Congressman John Lewis at the end of his remarkable life.” Each section pivots around the word “on.” On Love, On Marriage, On Immigration, On Forgiveness. It sounds like a declaration (“on, forgiveness!”), and now I am even MORE emo.

I Have Always Been Me by Precious Brady-Davis

I don’t know how I missed this one! Look at that AMAZING cover. Brady-Davis is a trans advocate who grew up in the Omaha, Nebraska foster care system and the Pentecostal faith. Here, she “speaks to anyone who has ever tried to find their place in this world and imparts the wisdom that comes with surmounting odds and celebrating on the other side.” Times are hard and this is exactly the sort of book we should have out there.

The Belle Époque: A Cultural History, Paris and Beyond by Dominique Kalifa

Well, this one’s just fun. And a university press book! The Belle Époque is basically the movie Moulin Rouge (French historians don’t @ me). You get the Bohemian scene and Toulouse-Lautrec and ART and SCIENCE. Plus, according to Wikipedia, “a period characterized by optimism, regional peace, economic prosperity, colonial expansion, and technological, scientific, and cultural innovations.” So vaguely like the ’90s, except not that. Also we weren’t optimistic in the ’90s, we were shielded by a thick layer of cynicism and a refusal to be vulnerable. But anyway! Learn about an in-retrospect Golden Age that took place from approximately 1871-1914!

For more nonfiction reads, check out the For Real podcast which I co-host with the excellent Kim here at Book Riot. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

Today In Books

Sylvia Plath’s Tarot Cards Sold for $207K: Today in Books

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date July 27, 2021

Sponsored by Seven Deaths of an Empire by G. R. Matthews.

New Amanda Gorman Book CALL US WHAT THEY CARRY Coming Out Dec 7

Penguin Random House announced earlier today that Amanda Gorman’s upcoming collection of poetry will be entitled Call Us What They Carry, and it will be out on December 7th of this year. Gorman’s collection will include “The Hill We Climb,” her breakout poem that she read at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, and new works. In a statement, statement, Gorman said, “I wrote Call Us What We Carry as a lyric of hope and healing. I wanted to pen a reckoning with the communal grief wrought by the pandemic. It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever written, but I knew it had to be. For me, this book is a receptacle, a time capsule both made by and for its era. What is poetry if not a mirror for our present and a message for our future?”

Christian Robinson Announces Collaboration with Target

On Monday, children’s author and illustrator Christian Robinson tweeted about his collaboration with Target, just in time for back-to-school: “Today, every molecule that I am made of is buzzing with excitement! Y’all… @Target and I have collaborated on a limited edition collection of 70 items across home and apparel for kids and baby! Available in all Target stores and online August 15th!” The items Robinson is creating for Target range from clothing for toddlers and babies to bedding, backpacks, and home decor. You can get a first look at some of the items from the collection on Essence‘s website.

Sylvia Plath’s Tarot Cards Sold for $270K

Sylvia Plath’s tarot cards just went for £151,200 (or $270,000) in an auction at Sotheby’s. The cards were a 24th birthday present from her husband, poet Ted Hughes, and they were a major influence on Plath’s poems in Ariel. The cards ended up selling for about £100,000 more than their valuation.

2021 Booker Prize Longlist Announced

The 2021 Booker Prize longlist has been announced! The longlist is comprised of 13 novels, chosen from 158 novels that span the globe from South Africa to Sri Lanka.

The Kids Are All Right

Kidlit Deals for July 28, 2021

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date July 27, 2021

Sponsored by Peachtree Publishing Company

After her mother dies suddenly, fifteen-year-old Mari is desperate to avoid going back into the foster system again. So in a risky move, Mari takes her on-the-spectrum younger stepbrother, Conor, and drives from LA to New England to find their estranged grandmother, hoping she might take them in. With a monumental stop in Missouri to witness the solar eclipse, an event with which Conor is obsessed, Mari learns about the inner workings of her brother’s mind and about her connections to him and to the world.

This heartwarming, engaging middle grade novel is a beautiful exploration of identity and family.

Hey kidlit pals! I hope you’re enjoying your last week of July and blowing past all of those summer reading goals! This week’s book deals include a nice bunch of backlist and award-winning books, so let’s dive in! As always, remember to snatch it up if you see something good because these deals never last long!

The classic fantasy So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane is just $3!

Little Bear’s Big House by Benjamin Chaud is a gorgeously illustrated and detailed picture book for just $2!

Snag the first book in the Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer, The Case of the Missing Marquess, for just $3.

Fins: A Sharks Incorporated Novel by Randy Wayne White can be yours for $3.

Mike Jung’s Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities is a fun superhero themed middle grade for just $4!

Have you been meaning to start the Ivy and Bean series? Grab the first one for just $4 and many of the sequels are the same price or lower!

Shannon Hale’s beloved Princess Academy is under $5!

Arcade and the Triple T Token by Rashad Jennings is a fun adventure for just under $5!

Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina is still just $1!

They Threw Us Away by Daniel Krause is a great new start to a middle grade series for just $3, perfect for fans of Holly Black.

Happy reading!
Tirzah

Our Queerest Shelves

Messy Sapphic New Adult, Queer Horror YA, and a Bisexual Non-Superhero

Post author By Danika Ellis
Post date July 27, 2021

Sponsored by Dundurn Press, publisher of The Boi of Feather and Steel

Welcome to a wicked cool fantasy world of witches and their assassins where a group of renegades join together to overthrow the world-eating Coven. The Boi of Feather and Steel “explores the queer potential of witches to evoke themes of difference, chosen families, and becoming one’s true self in worlds both magical and mundane… Jerreat-Poole’s fantasy world is chaotic but voluminous, and readers who love the stuff of magic will find plenty to spark the imagination.” — Quill & Quire … With blood and magic spilled, who will survive?

Hi friends! Since I wrote you last, I have gotten my second shot, and other than a day of blahs, it went well! I’m so excited to start seeing friends and book shopping again soon — once my two weeks are up, of course. I edited a video for the bookstore I used to work for and got a big store credit in exchange, so I am ready to stock up!

Queer Book Ramblings

I think I’m finally done with 3 star queer books.

When I first started the Lesbrary, I was reading every sapphic book I could get my hands on. Any ebook I was sent for review, I read. Any lesbian book gathering dust on a library shelf, I consumed. Whether it was 80s F/F romance, a tragic lesbian novel from the 20s, or the latest queer YA, I was there for it.

After a while, though, I realized that the world of queer literature was a lot bigger than I had been led to imagine. There was more out there than I could possibly ever read. I didn’t have to settle for poorly-edited books or premises I wasn’t interested in. I quickly relinquished reading books that in the past I would have finished and rated 1 or 2 stars. I also began to better understand my own taste in books, including sapphic ones. I got better at picking out books, and I managed to cut out the books I disliked almost entirely from my reading.

And that’s where I’ve been for many years. Meanwhile, the queer book world continued to grow, offering up possibilities I’d never thought were possible: intersectional identities, a multitude of genres and subgenres, even flawed and multi-dimensional characters that didn’t have to be role models! It was true 10 years ago that there were more great queer books out there than I could read in a lifetime, but now that’s grown exponentially.

Recently, I was reading an F/F romance — I’ll spare the name — and it was fine. There were flaws, but there were also elements that I liked. It wasn’t bad, so I figured it was worth reading and reviewing. The problem is that reading that short romance took me about 3 weeks. Generally, I read 1-2 books a week. “My reading slump continues,” I thought. But when I finally finished that book, I picked up Fresh by Margot Wood, and I flew through it. It’s a book starring a messy, flawed, endearing bisexual main character stumbling her way through her first year of university, and I loved it. I read it in 2 days.

That’s when I had to face it: I’m not in a reading slump. I just read slowly when I’m not interested in the book. It’s not enough for a book to be not bad. I don’t have to settle for that in queer lit. There are so many amazing LGBTQ books out there, and I’m wasting time on one that’s not clicking for me.

From now on, I’ve decided, if a book feels like it’s probably going to be a 3 star read a chapter or two in, I’m abandoning it. We’re living in an era of abundance for queer books: it’s time to stop acting like there’s scarcity! I plan to DNF a lot more books so I can find the ones I truly love. I can’t wait to see what I discover!

All the Links Fit to Click

Hungary’s LGBTQ community continues to suffer under new legislation, including censorship of books and bookstores. Thousands marched in opposition to the law.
New York bookstore The Dog Eared Book made a TikTok calling out customers who turn around LGBTQ books to hide their covers.
Good news/bad news: The Macon County Public Library’s children’s Pride display attracted parent complaints (I recommend not reading them), but they got more positive comments than negative ones, and their local and regional library boards supported the display.
Sally Miller Gearhart, lesbian activist and author of The Wanderground, has passed away at 90.

LGBTQ Book Riot Posts

8 Notable Queer Contemporary Fiction Books By Asian Writers

New Releases This Week

Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton (Trans Fiction)

Gala is a young trans woman obsessed with the 1960s California band The Get Happies, and especially with their lead singer, B—. Gala writes B— letters, trying to puzzle out why The Get Happies stopped making music and never released their album Summer Fun. This a non-linear epistolary exploration of a friendship between two trans women who came out at very different times and the ways they’ve found to survive in a world that is often hostile to them. It explores creativity, fandom, and trans identity.

The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters (F/F YA Fantasy/Horror)

When Natasha’s sister is the latest girl to go missing in the woods, she turns to Della, who’s rumored to be a witch. Della is willing to help — but she’s secretly convinced that the monster taking girls is her own mother, transformed by magic gone wrong. This is supposed to be “lush and chilling,” about two girls fighting back against a violent world. This is from the author of Ghost Wood Song, and it’s being compared to Wilder Girls and Bone Gap.

I am Not Starfire by Mariko Tamaki and Yoshi Yoshitani (F/F YA Graphic Novel)

Teenage Mandy is nothing like her sparkly superhero mom, Starfire. Mandy dies her hair black and avoids people whenever possible — except her best friend, Lincoln, and the girl she has a crush on, Claire (not that she’d admit to that!) She hasn’t even told her mom that she walked out the SATs and plans to run off to France instead of going to college. When Starfire is in danger, though, Mandy has to decide whether to keep running or stand and fight. This is a new YA graphic novel from Mariko Tamaki, New York Times bestselling author of Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me. It’s an AU graphic novel that is sure to bring some new teenage fans in, just like Tamaki’s earlier title, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass. Check out the trailer for it on YouTube! Also, it has gotten hit with a ton of misogynistic and homophobic 1 star reviews on Goodreads before its publication date, so feel free to show it some love!

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me on at the Lesbrary and on Twitter @Lesbrary. You can also hear me on All the Books on the first Tuesday of the month, and I post weekly New Releases videos on the Book Riot Youtube channel. You can bet I sneak in as many queer titles as I can.

Happy reading!

Danika

Kid Lit Giveaways

072721-AccursedVampire-KidlitGiveaway

Post author By Natalia Heroux
Post date July 27, 2021

We’re giving away five copies of The Accursed Vampire by Madeline McGrane to five lucky Riot readers!

Enter here for a chance, or click the cover image below!

Here’s what it’s all about:

When the witch wants a spellbook from Baneberry Falls, Drago sets off with their immortal friends. But mysteries await in this sleepy Midwestern town, and Drago must figure out if the keepers of the spellbook have a hidden agenda. One thing’s for sure though: Drago’s immortal life will never be the same again!

In The Club

In the Club 07/28/21

Post author By Erica Ezeifedi
Post date July 27, 2021

Sponsored by Karma: A Yogi’s Guide to Crafting Your Destiny

ho really understands the concept of karma? Half the time when people are referencing it, it sounds like some form of revenge. But karma is a much deeper and richer concept than that. As explained by Sadhguru, yogi & mystic, karma means action. Sadhguru turns the tables by showing us clearly that karma is an empowering possibility for taking charge of our lives by choosing how we respond to what is happening to us. With celebrity fans from Will Smith to Tom Brady, this enlightening book offers in depth insights on the concept of Karma and shows how to achieve true happiness.

Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed. This week I’m settling into my new digs in Jersey City, NJ. I’ve lived here before, but this feels like a new adventure, probably since it was a few years ago, I’m in a different apartment, and of course I now have this job. I’m definitely in a “new job, new phone, who dis?” mood.

I’m also happy to be near NYC again and able to visit my old haunts from when I was a 20-something-year-old scalawag, who did not traipse around Manhattan at all hours of the night with my friends acting grown *ahem*.

To the Club!

Nibbles and Sips

So stone fruit are very much in season now and I’ve been seeing fresh apricots each time I’ve been in my fav. new grocery store, Lidl. Seeing them there made me realize that I’ve never really had apricots unless they were dried and/or in preserves (or baked into brie). So obviously, I had to get some. I will say, they’re cute little fruit, albeit a little tart. I actually thought they would go perfectly in a tarte (ha!). New York Times Cooking came through with an apricot tart recipe that also has pistachios (which I love). The ingredients list is fairly short. Tip: If you can’t find phyllo dough, try puff pasty.

Now, let’s get into this week’s topic.

BIPOC Mental Health Month

July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Sadly, I’ve only recently found out about this, but of course bringing awareness to mental health care within communities of color is a yearlong concern.

As with other issues pertaining to race and class, the issues surrounding mental health care and people of color is complex. On the one hand, colonizers have gone to great lengths to eradicate non-European cultural practices and convince us that our beliefs are not rooted in sanity. The many horrors of residency schools that have been surfacing lately are a great example of this attempt at cultural erasure (like this one in Colorado, Minnesota, and Canada). As a result, many of us have tried our best to avoid adding yet another stigma to an already fraught social standing by denying the presence of any mental health issues we may experience.

On the other hand, it has also been well documented how communities of color don’t receive much needed health care, mental health care included. The books I’ve included here bring us one step closer to where we should be in terms of understanding by showing what it’s like to 1) be of color, 2) have a mental illness, and 3) have both of those identities at the same time.

The following books need a trigger warning for: sexual abuse and assault, child abuse, domestic violence

Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot

Mailhot tells a poetic and lyrical story of her experiences with child abuse and neglect, being bipolar, and an Indian. I almost felt at times like I was experiencing things as one of her friends or even as her. This is a result of her somewhat stream-of-conscious style of writing and how honest she was about everything. She could be cruel and selfish and contradicted herself at times. She could also be forgiving and vulnerable, and really just seemed to be in search of validation. I felt as though I was finding things out with her, including the huge revelation towards the end. This is a short read, but has so much packed into it.

Book Club Bonus: In the book, Mailhot is almost apologetic for merely existing as a poor child. What are some other seemingly unusual ways poverty influences children? Also, how may conflicting cultural views of the world (for instance, Indigenous views versus European views on things such as property and ownership) dictate one’s sense of self and place in the world when you belong to more than one culture?

The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang

With this collection of essays, Wang chronicles her experiences with having late-stage Lyme disease, PTSD, and schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. We follow Wang as she details her experiences with audible and visual hallucinations, her stay in mental hospitals, how she experienced PTSD following an abusive relationship, and more. There’s even a chapter that she wrote while experiencing a particular kind of psychosis known as Cotard’s delusion, which is a rare condition that causes someone to believe they are dead. She’s very honest about being ashamed of her mental illness when she confesses things like “I’m uncomfortable because I don’t want to be lumped in with the screaming man on the bus, or the woman who claims that she’s the reincarnation of God.”

Book Club Bonus: The criteria for having mental illness has changed through the years. How should we reconcile cultural differences in terms of spirituality, etc. with what is considered mental illness? Who dictates what is considered mental illness and what is not?

Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown

Echo’s life as a wizard on the East Side is rife with substance abuse, child abuse, depression, racism, classism, and sexism. Despite this, there is magic everywhere. This YA coming-of-age story is a mix of surrealism and metaphor that shows how Black women’s resilience manifests as magic. This can be hard to read, but is so necessary.

Book Club Bonus: How can the idea of Black women being resilient actually be damaging? Also, how does this book explore intergenerational trauma?

Bonus Bonus: All of the books mentioned here focus on women/girls of color dealing with mental health issues. All of the books also have sexual assault. Discuss the intersection of mental health concerns with the prevalence of assault.

Suggestion Section

An article on how Reese Witherspoon’s book club is driving book sales. The impact of book clubs!

In case you hadn’t heard, Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen have a new book.

Here is a list of 2021 releases from Book Riot sure to start some great book club conversations!

Thanks for chilling with me! As always, If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com.

See you next week,

Erica

What's Up in YA

Spring 2022 YA + Vintage Horror On Screen: Your YA Book News and New Books, July 29, 2021

Post author By Kelly Jensen
Post date July 27, 2021

YA Book News

The I Know What You Did Last Summer remake is coming this fall. Those of us with love for nostalgic teen horror are having a great year.
A ton of casting news for the adaptation of Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty just landed.
Sneak peeks at spring 2022 children’s book releases, including a wealth of YA titles.
Like No Other by Una LaMarche is getting an adaptation.
There is a Malcolm X series in the works, based on the YA novelizations by Kekla Magoon and Tiffany D. Jackson, both written in partnership with Malcolm X’s daughter.
Mason Deaver’s I Wish You All The Best has some adaptation news.
This “Pandemic Missed Connections” series at PW is going to add so many great under-the-radar and overlooked 2020 titles to my TBR.

New YA Books This Week

Where there was a lot of news, note that this week, the new releases are slimmer than normal. The good part about that is you have some time to catch up with that towering TBR.